If you’re one of those people who use Snapchat, this may serve as either a useful news item or a timely warning for you. (I’ve never installed or looked at Snapchat so I’m a bit out of my depth here.) Either way, the company announced that users of its premium Snapchat+ service will soon have a new option available to them. Instead of just chatting with your friends and family, you’ll be able to pose questions to a chatbot driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI). You’ll be able to ask it for gift ideas, recipes, movie listings, or whatever you like. The chatbot is developed from the code of OpenAI, the same geniuses who brought us ChatGPT and Bing, so you can imagine the fun that’s in store for you. Of course, it will cost you $3.99 per month for this experience, but I’m sure SKYNET will refund your money after it arrives. (CNBC)

Snap announced Monday it’s rolling out an OpenAI-powered chatbot named My AI to its Snapchat+ subscribers.

Snapchat+ was announced in June and costs $3.99 per month.

According to The Verge, the chatbot is based on OpenAI ChatGPT technology, which also underpins Microsoft‘s Bing AI. It can recommend gift ideas, weekend plans, or recipes, Snap said in a press release. Users can customize the name and chat background of the “experimental feature.”

We’ve written here already about the various quirks or even frightening meltdowns that these chatbots display from time to time. And Snap (the maker of Snapchat and Snapchat+) has clearly heard about them as well. They put up an immediate caution for users, saying that its chatbot “can be tricked into saying just about anything. Please be aware of its many deficiencies and sorry in advance!”

I don’t know about you, but that certainly makes me feel better. CEO Evan Spiegel seems to be viewing it as part of the ongoing evolution of online discourse. In a recent interview, he said that “in addition to talking to our friends and family every day, we’re going to talk to AI every day.”

Snapchat+ users should probably prepare themselves for more than just the idea of the chatbot being “tricked into saying anything.” If you’re going to be asking the bot for any useful information, you should also make sure to double-check the info before deciding to move forward. ChatGPT frequently gets things wrong. And in some cases, it simply makes things up. They suggested using the new Snapchat bot for recipe ideas, so this morning I fired up ChatGPT and decided to toss it a cooking curveball.

First I asked it for a recipe to cook kale and what types of spices might make it palatable. The bot sang the praises of kale as a healthy meal choice and then produced a recipe that looked completely reasonable. (Assuming you can stomach kale to begin with.) But then I got creative and asked for a meal idea using food left over from preparing thanksgiving dinner. ChatGPT spit out a seven-step recipe for a “budget-friendly turkey gizzard stew.”

As I’ve said before… your mileage may vary.